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Students Present Research at National Undergraduate Conference

HIGH POINT, N.C., April 14, 2014 – Five students from High Point University presented their scholarly work and original research along with HPU professors at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), held at the University of Kentucky.

NCUR is the largest undergraduate interdisciplinary conference in the country. During the symposium, students not only presented their research in oral and poster sessions, but had the opportunity to network with students and scholars from all over the nation.

Jacob Brooks

Student presentations included:

Kylie Foster, who presented “The Effect of Canine Personality on Pet Recovery from Anesthesia,” worked on the research with Dr. Joanne Altman, professor of psychology and director of Undergraduate Research and Creative Works at HPU;

Tayla Curran, who presented “The Healing Power of Narrative Medicine: Aiding Adults in Aging Creatively,” who worked on the research with Allison Walker, instructor of English;

Kayla Dolan, who presented “Utilizing a RTI Learning Program to Train Pre-Service Teachers,” who worked on the research with Dr. Sarah Vess, assistant professor of education;

Jacob Brooks, who presented “Using VPython Modeling to Design the Magnetics for an Artificial Cilia Platform,” who worked on the research with Dr. Briana Fiser, assistant professor of physics; and

Alyssa Springer, who presented “A Globalized Education: A Comparative Study of the International Baccalaureate and Common Core State Standards Systems,” who worked on the research with Dr. Leslie Cavendish, assistant professor of education.

“The NCUR Conference is competitive, and having this kind of opportunity to present professionally and publicly gives students stronger credentials for graduate school or employment,” says Altman. “This year, 1.6 million students are graduating college in America. Work such as this gives students something unique to talk about in interviews and on applications, and provides them with soft skills and technical skills that will make them stand out from the crowd.”

Foster, a junior majoring in psychology and Spanish, says she plans on furthering her research in the future.

“The Undergraduate Research and Creative Writing department at HPU has helped me prepare and become experienced in the field of research, which I expect to use in graduate school and beyond,” says Foster. “Being selected to participate in NCUR is such an honor, and I’m happy about the potential opportunities it may open up for me.”

NCUR, which is in its 27th year, is an annual conference hosted by the Council on Undergraduate Research. The conference annually hosts 2,000 students and their faculty mentors to present their research through posters, oral presentations, visual arts and performances.